Google scoops up ex-Microsoftie Don Dodge
(Credit:
Don Dodge on The Next Big Thing)
As you may remember, in Microsoft's most recent round of layoffs, the company laid off Director of Business Development Don Dodge. Dodge is very respected in the start-up community and tirelessly defended Microsoft's technologies at conferences and to developers during his time at the company. When he was let go, many people were shocked by the move and were watching intently to see who would pick him up. On Monday, Dodge announced on his blog that he will be joining Google in a similar capacity to his role at Microsoft.
Now, Dodge will focus on evangelizing Google's technologies and platforms, instead of Microsoft's, to the developer community. Dodge said that within 90 minutes of the news of his layoff becoming public, Vic Gundotra, Google's VP of engineering (who also came from Microsoft), contacted him about this job opportunity with the company. On his blog, Dodge claims that he has already switched over to Gmail, Google Apps, and Chrome from their Microsoft counterparts.
It's great to see that Dodge landed on his feet so quickly after being ousted from his position at Microsoft and he will likely be a great asset to Google in dealing with the developer community.
Harrison Hoffman is a tech enthusiast and co-founder of LiveSide.net, a blog about Windows Live. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. 





are cool and better and only just now he switched to Gmail!!!!
He must have had a cave cube at microsoft!
Evidently, the difference between a guy like Dodge and Ray Ozzie is that Dodge changes direction like a flag in the wind and Ray Ozzie fights the long fight against all odds to change the direction of the wind.
But throwing out a conspiracy theory, it IS interesting how fast this guy got picked up by Google after allegedly being bounced by Softee. Did he have this in the works for a while, and maybe it got picked up on at Microsoft, and that's why they decided to act first.
- by Criquer November 18, 2009 8:18 PM PST
- This is not a zero-sum game. Both MS and Google have technologies of value to the world, technologies that can be evangelized. And, Don did a lot more than that. Just check his blog and all the advice it contains for start-ups.
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(12 Comments)Anyone who objects to an evangelist changing firms (especially if not because of his own doing), should object similarly when software engineers, project managers, VPs, or C-level people move.
Otherwise evangelists must "disappear", if they ever lose their job, while CTOs or CEOs may happily move on to their next tech job. Figure that.